


Bewhipped! The Second Year

by Cerdic519



Series: Bewhipped! [13]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adoption, Caring Castiel, Castiel in Trunks, Charity Auctions, Cosplay, Cuddling & Snuggling, Destiel - Freeform, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, F/F, F/M, False Accusations, Fetish Clothing, Gay Sex, Gentle Dom Castiel, M/M, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester, Mechanic Dean, Nightmares, Pie, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Professor Castiel, Snowball Fight, Soldiers, Sub Dean, Swimming, Texas, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day, mild homophobia, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 23:03:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9146029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerdic519/pseuds/Cerdic519
Summary: A selection of (mis-)adventures from the second full year of Cas and Dean's suburban dream lifestyle (note: definition of 'dream lifestyle' excludes irritating older brothers who happen to have moved in next doorwithout telling anyone). Also their first full year raising their son. What could possibly go wrong?Apart from that.Okay, that too.Yeah, and... look, just read it!





	1. January

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Frenchyeh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchyeh/gifts), [impulse_baker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/impulse_baker/gifts), [smiles4100](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smiles4100/gifts).



I

Gabriel Novak looked warily out of his front door. Kali, damn her, had left the car on the driveway, which meant that there was every possibility that his brother (who for some reason had been less than thrilled at his unannounced arrival in the area) might be lurking somewhere. And while Gabriel considered himself one of the best pranksters out there, he knew better than to take on a Grand Master. He still had nightmares every time he saw a glue-pot.

Coast clear. There was no sign of activity from next door, so hopefully their kid was keeping them busy. Gabriel moved stealthily to the car, and had his handle on the door when a familiar voice made him nearly jump out of his skin.

“Gabriel!”

That unmistakable growl. Cassie was Not Happy. Gabriel forced a smile onto his face and looked up to see his little brother eying him balefully across the fence. Thankfully a very solid fence.

“Um, hi, Cass....tiel.”

Blue eyes continued to bore into gold.

“So good of you to tell me you were moving in”, Castiel said heavily. “Oh wait. You must have 'forgotten'.”

“Look, Cassie.....”

The Scowl appeared. Gabriel remembered for some reason that Kali had insisted last night on their checking their life insurance policies, she had said for the new address. Now he wondered......

“Forgive and forget?” Gabriel said hopefully. His brother just stared at him.

“I think not”, Cas said acidly. “Remember that incident with the pellet-gun and Mother's glass animal collection?”

“O' course!” Gabriel began, before it twigged. “You... no, Castiel. You wouldn't tell her. Besides, it would be your word against mine.”

Even as he said it, it sounded dumb. His brother's knowing smile only made it worse.

“I used your new phone to take some pictures at the time”, Cas smiled, taking out his own phone. “I had a feeling that they might come in useful... oops! I seem to have accidentally sent them all to Mother. How careless of me.”

Gabriel was having trouble breathing. And at that very moment, his own phone started ringing.

“Looks like she received them!” Cas smiled dangerously. “Next time, don't 'forget' things, Gabriel.”

Gabriel was torn between staring after his evil little brother and trying to think if he had time to flee the country before Mother caught up with him.

+~+~+

II

The great thing about being a professor, Cas had always thought, was that you knew how to prepare for things. Even huge, monumental things, like his new son's first day at school. Cas knew that there was every prospect of tears, clinginess and general pouting, but he had planned for all that.

He wondered if Ben would be alright, too.

+~+~+

Dean strolled into the garage feeling absolutely fine, but was a little confused to find virtually everyone in the office, with not a lot of repair work going on. Bobby stood at his doorway, and Cain, Benny and Ash were gathered around Krissy's desk. They all looked at him expectantly.

“Uh, what?” he said.

“Don't keep us all in suspense, boy!” Bobby barked. “How did it go?”

“Oh. Ben was fine”, Dean said airily. “Kissed us both and went off with his teacher. A real trooper.”

They all exchanged looks. 

“What about you?” Cain asked.

Dean grinned.

“I was fine with it”, he said.

“Hah!” Krissy exclaimed. “Told you so. That's his 'I just had sex' look. Pay up, bitches!”

To Dean's chagrin everyone – even freakin' Bobby! – handed over notes to her. He scowled at her.

“You were betting on my sex life?” he asked incredulously.

“I was sure Cas would make you wait till later”, Benny grumbled.

“I went for the alcohol option”, Cain sighed. “Come on, let's get back to work. And stop with the smirk, you horny bastard!”

Dean smirked again, just to annoy him.

+~+~+

III

It was a definitely not worth celebrating or even mentioning event that occurred every January 24, namely the birthday of a certain Dean Winchester. And every year, Cas managed to surprise him. Although this year there would probably not be a repeat of the French maid's outfit.

Pity.

Ben, of course, had a home-made birthday card all ready for him. At least some blue-eyed bastard hadn't encouraged him to put the number of years on it, as that always depressed Dean. 

“I made it all myself!” Ben said proudly. “Papa got me all the stuff o' course, but I did all the real work.”

“It is very nice, Ben”, Dean said, smiling as his son puffed out his chest at the praise. “I shall keep it for a long time, I promise.”

“Oh you will!” Cas said, handing him a small present. “Because this is your actual present from our son.”

There may have been a sniff at the 'our son', but it was a manly sniff. Sorta. Dean carefully opened the box to reveal a whole lot of padding, inside of which was a wooden plate. He carefully extracted it – and froze. 

The design on the plate was the exact self-same one as on the card. 

“Daddy, are you crying?” Ben asked worriedly.

“I'm just so happy with this wonderful present”, Dean told him. “Thank you so much! I shall use it to have pie for dinner.”

“Oh, then I shall miss it”, Ben said, a little sadly. “Uncle Gabriel and Auntie Kali are taking me to the cinema, and to dinner after.”

“Yes”, Cas smiled. “Don't worry though, Ben; we will save you some pie. I, ahem, 'maid' it myself. Using a special 'French' recipe.”

Dean was suddenly having trouble breathing.


	2. February

I

Dean would have thought that, working in a garage, finding a new car for Cas to replace his pile of cr.... current vehicle wouldn't have been a problem. Except that Cas had his own ideas on what sort of vehicle he wanted, and Dean... well, he was not jealous.

He was not!

Okay, so he was. He loved Baby, but he had always also wanted a 4x4, something he could drive around anywhere and anytime in and not show off at all. And now Cas wanted just that.

“A Chevy?” Dean asked, surprised.

“A Suburban”, Cas amended, looking at something that could probably have given a tank commander pause for thought. “They are forecasting really heavy snow for later this month, so I thought to be prepared.”

“But this thing is too big, Cas.”

His husband looked at him. Dean just knew Cas could see right through him.

“You're jealous”, he smirked.

“No!”

That earned him a look that said quite clearly, 'yeah right!'.

“I just... even for a family car, the three of us don't need all that space”, Dean managed.

There was a definite pause.

“Who says we're always gonna be just three?” Cas asked quietly.

Oh. Oh!

+~+~+ 

II

Miss Matthews smiled at her various charges as she circulated around the classroom. It was the children's free time, when they could do what they wanted, providing it was fairly quiet. Little Ben Braeden was concentrating hard on making a card, carefully coloring in a huge red heart. She smiled as she came up to him.

“A Valentine's Day card, Ben?” she asked. 

“For Daddy and Papa”, the little boy said, finishing the heart and reaching for a blue crayon. “They're so sappy!”

He sounded so put upon at having to cope with such awful parents that she had to turn away to hide her smile. And her classroom aide seemed to be taken with a sudden coughing fit.

+~+~+

It was Mr. Dean who turned up to collect Ben that day, and she most definitely caught a wetness of eye as the boy gave him the card.

“It's for you to give papa”, Ben said. “I know how you forget these things.”

Dean blushed, and the teacher his a smile. It was oddly cute on such a big man.

“You're learning me too well, young man!” he said with a smile. “Come on, let's get you home.”

He walked Ben to the coat-rack and helped the excited boy on with his coat. It had been sleeting that morning, and there was the definite prospect of snow out. She watched as they left, Ben still chattering nineteen to the dozen and his father carefully carrying the precious card.

Damn dusty classrooms, making her eyes water!

+~+~+ 

III

“'S'not fair!” Dean called from behind the tree. “Two against one!”

Cas, of course, ignored him.

“We're having custard for dessert, Dean, and that's final”, he called back. “No pie today. You had it three days last week.”

“A man can never have too much pie!” Dean grumbled, hefting a snowball in his gloved hand. He would have to make a run for it, and Cas would be sure to get him, but he wasn't going down without a....

There was the unmistakable sound of someone stepping quietly through the snow from around the corner, and Dean grinned. He hefted the snowball and prepared to strike – only for their son to appear.

“Look behind you, daddy!

Dean reacted a fraction of a second too slowly, and the next minute he had snow dripping down inside his scarf and collar as his evil, manipulative husband pounced on him from the other direction. 

“Not fair!” Dean yelped. “That's mean, using a child as a distraction!”

“Who once said 'all's fair in love, war and snowball fights', hmm?” Cas reminded him. 

Dean groaned. Trust his professor husband to remember that.

“We're having custard”, Cas said, easily pinning the taller man to the ground despite his efforts to break free. “But if you're good, it'll be heated.”

Dean pouted, then yelped again as the snow trickled down his chest inside his layers. Ugh! He had such an evil husband!

Whom he loved dearly.


	3. March

I

Cas knew the minute he picked Ben up from the nursery that something was wrong. His normally chatty son was strangely thoughtful.

“Am I normal, papa?” he suddenly said.

Okay. That was unexpected.

“Of course you are, Ben”, he said firmly. “Why do you ask?”

“Bobby at school says that it's wrong for me to have two daddies and no mommy.”

Bobby Lanek. Cas had a professor's eye for such things, and he had identified that kid as a potential source of trouble from day one. His father was a prominent politician on the town council, and always banging on about tolerance for others. But, Cas had rightly suspected, not all others, just the ones he preferred. And his wife was a complete sl..... of a similarly dubious character.

“Bobby does not know any better”, Cas said comfortingly. “You have daddy and me, and we both love you.”

“But do I need another mommy as well?” Ben asked.

Cas tried not to sniff.

“Every family is different in some way, Ben”, he said. “But we all do our best. For example, your daddy was really upset today that he had to drive all the way over to Dallas to sort out a car for someone, as that meant he couldn't pick you up. Why don't we go home and surprise him with pizza, and you can draw him a special card to show how much you love him?”

“Yay!”

Cas gave a silent thank-you heavenwards for easily distracted kids, and resolved to have words with the nursery teacher about a certain other student of hers.

+~+~+

II

Dean was not sweeping snow off their drive just because Cas had promised him sex later. He was not!

Okay, maybe he was just a little. Which was why he was less than pleased when he was finally done, only to find he wasn't.

“I said 'when you had finished with all the snow”, Cas grinned. “I didn't say 'just on our drive'.”

“Caaaaas!” Dean not-whined.

“Mrs. Fulready asked if one of us might clear Lieutenant Ben's drive”, Cas said. “He has a hospital appointment tomorrow.”

Dean pouted. Cas grinned.

“I might be persuaded to wear the Sherlock hat....”

His husband was already sprinting across the road towards their friend's house. Cas grinned. If his husband was quick enough, he might throw in the pipe as well!

+~+~+

“Not bad news?” Dean asked. The postman had been just as he had been finishing off, and the former soldier was opening his mail while Dean had a coffee and some cookies. (Yes, he would be telling Cas about them later, if only because the freaky mind-reading genius would somehow know anyway; besides, if he didn't, he might not get The Hat).

“Perhaps”, the ex-soldier said, frowning. “My sister Beatty says she will be taking a driving holiday to Florida come summer, and will call in on me.”

“Not asking, then”, Dean observed.

“Beatty doesn't ask”, Ben sighed. “She just does.”

Dean made a mental note to keep an eye on this woman when she called. If she was trouble, he'd have to set Cas on her!

+~+~+

III

Dean considered himself a master chef, which was why it fell to him to cook the cakes that Ben would be taking to the nursery to mark his fourth birthday. Cas, ever the advance planner, had had the foresight to contact Miss Matthews and check if any of the children had allergies, but fortunately only one had, and he had just left (the teacher had told Cas, very quietly, that Selma Lanek taking her equally obnoxious son out of class may have been celebrated with a small sherry in the staff room). 

Because of Ben's love for GI Joe, Cas wanted the cakes double-topped with camouflage colored icing, green and brown. Dean had not been sure, thinking the end result might look disgusting, but by placing the green on top of a larger dark brown topping it looked quite good. Unfortunately some un-trusting bastard of a husband stood over him as he did it, and would only allow him to eat one of the finished products.

Locking them away in a cupboard was, Dean thought, a bit much. It was not as if he ever....

Cas gave him a look. Oh yeah. The Sponge Cake Incident.

Ben's main present for the day was a voucher, so he could go online and buy a whole crap-ton of GI Joe stuff. Gabriel and Kali gave him money for his savings account, and among his other presents the one he liked the most was a specially designed army badge that Lieutenant Ben had ordered for him. The kid wanted it sewn onto something at once, but Cas suggested that he get all his stuff on the Net and then decide.

It was a Friday, which meant an early finish for school. Then Ben came down to the garage, where the guys had gotten him his own set of overalls, and was allowed to work with his daddy on real cars. The sight of his son sleeping off all his exertions on the old couch at the back of the place – well, it would have taken a better man than Dean Winchester not to shed a manly tear.

Dinner was Ben's choice, which naturally meant pizza and (to Dean's delight) pie with ice-cream ('because daddy loves pie'). Ben almost fell asleep before the meal was over, and Dean carried him to his room and put him to bed.

It had been a good day.


	4. April

I

Gabriel grinned as he watched Cas' huge black car – serious wheels, bro! - ease out and roll off down the driveway, taking him brother and his nephew to college and nursery respectively. A few minutes to make sure, and then he'd have plenty of time to shoot next door and set up that prank with the garage door.

“Should I wear black at the funeral?” Kali asked slyly, elevating a classical eyebrow. Her husband scowled. 

“Cassandra has totally forgiven me by now”, he scoffed. “We had dinner round there last week, remember? And he'd be disappointed if I didn't try something, today of all days!”

“Maybe dark gray?” she mused. He huffed, and ignored her.

+~+~+

Some time later he was strolling back to the house, feeling very pleased with himself. 

He might have been less so had he known that in the house opposite, which commanded an excellent view of 820, Kevin Tran (who had been graciously excused classes by his professor that morning) put down his borrowed binoculars and picked up his phone.

+~+~+

Gabriel was actually washing his car on the driveway for once when he heard the rumble of the Suburban returning home. He knew that Ben was on a school trip today and Dean had gone along to help out. It would be just Cas who....

Strange. He could just see through the smoked windows that his brother had someone with him. Lucky Gabriel had rigged things so that only the driver should get soused by the bucket of water, carefully balanced where he had left it.

He heard the sound of the other guy through the opening door as the Suburban drove in. His voice sounded vaguely familiar from somewhere.

“Thanks for letting me dri.... aaargh!”

Gabriel sniggered, but his enjoyment was short-lived. Seconds later, a familiar figure staggered out of the garage, dripping water all over the place, and the blond turned deathly pale. It was his boss Gerald O'Daugherty, known to all and sundry as God because......

“No-vak!”

Oh fuck!

The last thing he saw as he fled into the house was his little brother's smirk. Dammit, when would he learn?

+~+~+

II

“Always with the scissors, Dino!”

Dean scowled as Benny and the others laughed at him, then slouched unwillingly out into the main garage to meet their next customer. Or in this case, possibly their most feared customer.

“Deeeeean!”

Only Rowena McQueen could say that word and make it sound like an invitation to slip between the covers. Dean gripped the screwdriver he had just happened to have picked up on his way out and tried to fake a smile. He strongly suspected that it was not a 100% successful effort.

“Little Ruthie here is playing up”, she purred, “and I really need her in top condition for the charity auction tonight. Are you up for sale?”

Dean uttered up a silent prayer that it was Cas' turn to put himself up for auction. An evil thought crossed his mind and, most unwisely, he gave in to it.

“No, but Cas is”, he said. “A date with him, although I'll be doing the cooking for his hamper. Are you gonna bid?”

She just looked at him, then smiled lasciviously.

+~+~+

Cas said nothing when he came home from the auction, even though Benny had phoned to warn Dean that Rowena had been successful in her bid for him. In fact Cas said nothing all the way through to the dinner the following week. Dean thought he had gotten away with it, right to the moment Charlie and Dorothy turned up to collect Ben for a surprise sleepover at their house. And the Look Dean got once they had gone....

Oh, Cas knew all right!

+~+~+

Dean could not sit down the whole of the next day! And he had to put up with his horndog workers sniggering at his every wince, dammit!

+~+~+

III

The three of them were having a family conference around the dinner-table, because a certain someone had done something very silly. Cas cleared his throat.

“Alright”, he said. “Ben.”

The boy looked at his papa warily.

“Yes, papa?” he quavered.

“I want to say how pleased I am with the way you handled this”, Cas smled. “It was very silly of daddy to leave the bleach in the bathroom after he cleaned it, and you did exactly the right thing when you found it there, coming and telling me. Well done.”

Ben smiled in relief. Cas turned to look pointedly at his husband. Dean rarely cleaned the bathrooms as his and Cas' ideas of 'clean' were about as far apart as opposite sides of the Grand Canyon, so it was unsurprising that he had slipped up. Not that Cas was going to let him off that easily.

“What do you think Daddy's punishment should be for doing something that silly?” Cas asked Ben.

Dean turned pleading eyes on their son, who ignored him.

“He has to buy me sweets every day for a week?” the boy ventured.

“I think that might be a bit too much”, Cas said. 

Dean sighed in relief.

“He can however use the money we were going to spend on pie for the coming week to buy you some sweets for one day”, Cas said.

“Caaaas!”

“Whiner!” Ben muttered.

Cas had to turn away to hide his smile.


	5. May

I

More than once in his life, Dean had had good cause to be thankful for the force of human nature that was Charlie Bradbury. But rarely more than tonight; Ben had gone to some other kid's birthday party, and as that was on the far side of town it had been arranged that he would sleep over at her house.

Which, as things turned out, was exquisite timing. 

+~+~+

Dean was sure of relatively few things in his life, but one was the likelihood that on his gravestone would be the words 'Here lies Dean Winchester, killed through too much sex with his insatiable husband'. Because Cas had arrived home yesterday in a Mood, and clearly needed to let off steam. And his husband had been more than happy to surrender his body to just that purpose.

Cas, bless him, was a firm believer in aftercare, which was why what little was left of Dean was currently blissed out after a gloriously long soak with his sexy husband, during which his muscles and mind had slowly returned from whatever planet or universe that they had fled to the night before.

“So what ruffled your feathers, angel?” Dean yawned. Charlie would not be bringing Ben back until mid-morning, so they still had time alone. Not that Dean was capable of much more than speech just now.

His husband frowned.

“I met the 'Beatty'”, he said sourly.

“Who?” Den asked, puzzled.

“Lieutenant Ben's other sister”, Cas said. “A thoroughly vile and unpleasant woman. One of those who thinks she can organize anything and everything.”

Years of being with Cas had taught Dean well. He knew a verbal trap like that, especially with his husband looking knowingly at him.

“But she's only passing through”, Dean pointed out.

“She wants Ben to move to live with her, away from here”, Cas said. “She made it quite clear that she disapproves of the likes of you and me. It's like having the Menzies back again. And she's threatened to call in on her way back, damn her!”

Dean sighed. They just could not catch a break.

+~+~+

II

“Do you know the Fourmiles?”

Dean frowned at the question.

“Should I?” he asked warily. 

“Their daughter Sandy is in Ben's class at nursery”, Cas explained. “They wanted some extra tuition for her.”

“At four?” Dean asked incredulously. “Talk about pushy!”

“I seem to recall some mechanic I know teaching Ben his numbers at the dinner table the other day”, Cas muttered. Dean blushed fiercely.

“That's different!” he said hotly. 

“It's their daughter's birthday next week”, Cas said, “and she wants Ben to go to the party. And have a sleepover at their house – well, mansion – afterwards.”

“Sounds okay”, Dean said.

“Ben said he hoped you'd say yes”, Cas said with a smile. “Especially since he's taken to calling her his girlfriend.”

Dean stared at his husband in horror. Four years old, and a girlfriend? Cas stared back at him, then smiled slightly.

“You swine!” Dean muttered.

“Careful”, Cas said. “Remember, that'll be another whole night with Ben out of the house. I might bring out the leather harness again.”

Let it be said that Dean Winchester did not whine. It was just a high-pitched cough that came out wrong.

Yes it was!

+~+~+

III

“I'm not really that disappointed”, Lieutenant Ben admitted as they sat down to a Sunday roast that Dean had cooked that morning. “Beatty always was one to over-organize everything. I'm sure that if I had gone to live with her, she'd have tried to file me away somewhere. Getting that email made for a great Memorial Day.”

“So she is not calling in on her way back?” Cas asked. “What a pity.”

The former soldier seemed to miss the absolute lack of any sincerity in that statement.

“She said that she had to rush home unexpectedly”, the lieutenant said. “Wouldn't tell me why, though.”

+~+~+

“You owe your Queen!” Charlie said haughtily, eying with pleasure the chocolate cake that Cas was finishing off for her. “Don't forget – or I might hack into the videos you make of your own activities.”

“We don't make videos like that”, Dean retorted.

“You think that would stop me?” she grinned. “You owe me at least two more sittings with your adorable kid. Photo-shopping is a lot harder than people think.”

“And the woman has rushed home because she thinks that the picture of her husband and his secretary entering the same hotel room was real”, Cas said, placing a large slice of cake before their visitor.

“She'll accuse him of adultery, and sue for divorce”, Charlie grinned. “Which'll be unfortunate considering what she got up to with those Cuban waiters in Miami, the pictures of which some anonymous personage may or may not have sent to her soon to be ex-husband. I have to say, even I learned a thing or two watching that video. I'm off to Florida for my next break!”

“Ah well”, Dean said. “Hopefully we will never be seeing the old bat again.”

“Meh, we'll cope”, Cas said with a smile.


	6. June

I

It was Ben's last day at nursery, and he had liked it enough that he would be going full time next year. Dean was picking him up and, as Cas had managed to arrange some time off, they were going for celebration burgers (and, of course, pie). However, when Ben's teacher asked for 'a word', Dean's stomach dropped.

“It's nothing bad”, she reassured him. “Just next year, we start them with swimming lessons.”

“Yeah?” Dean said warily.

“I told the class this morning, and I noticed that your son went very quiet”, she said. “It was quite upsetting, really.”

“Upsetting?”

“I asked him why, and he said that he had never seen the sea”, she said. “So, he said, why would he need to learn to swim?”

+~+~+

“Because this summer, we are going to the seaside”, Cas told their son.

Dean just about managed to cover his surprise. They were?

“We are?” Ben asked, wide-eyed.

“We are”, Cas said. “But not until August, so we shall see about getting you some private lessons at the local pool. And don't worry – if you don't want to go into the sea when we get there, you don't have to. Isn't that right, Dean?”

Dean, unfortunately, was lost in the image of Cas wearing Speedos.

“What?” he asked.

Cas gave him a look that said he knew full well what his husband had been thinking about, and Dean felt a foot rubbing against his ankle. That meant.....no, no boners in the burger joint. Thank the Lord for a solid table top.

“I could do with a refill”, Cas said, looking hopefully at his husband. “Dean....”

Dammit!

+~+~+

II

Let it be known that Dean Winchester was not afraid of water. He loved water. Showers, baths, car washes – yup, he had no problem with the wet stuff.

Except the idea of swimming in it. And he had uttered a prayer of thanks to the gods when the swimming instructor had taken Ben and said that parents weren't needed for the first two lessons, but Dean might like to stay in the area `just in case'. Which was why he was there in his swimming trunks thinking that perhaps this day might not be so bad after all.

Ah.

“Hello, Dean.”

That familiar graveled growl made him smile, and he turned to gave his husband.

“Holy f.... front door!”

Cas was wearing a set of Speedos of which – well, one could just say that they hadn't been overly generous with the material. Dean watched as his husband eased into the middle pool, which adjoined the one where Ben was having his lesson.

“Coming?” Cas smiled.

Yeah, Dean Winchester was afraid of water. But this was only at most four foot deep (he'd checked), and when Cas spoke to him like that and looked like the sort of thing that would have a saint seriously reconsidering his life choices – well, what was a man to do? Dean followed him.

Fortunately Cas seemed to want nothing more than to relax in the shallow end, occasionally waving to their son who, it turned out, was having so much fun that the teacher had to prompt him to wave back. 

“Maybe tonight”, Cas said softly, “I'll wear this again. Need to get in practice, after all.”

“Practice?” Dean squeaked (it was a manly squeak, provided one stretched the definition of manly).

“For when we go to the beach”, Cas smiled.

“Hell no!” Dean snorted. “You are not wearing that out in public. I have enough trouble with people hitting on you already.”

He had turned to glare at his husband, which was a mistake as he got the full force of the puppy-dog eyes. 

“I love it when you get possessive!” Cas growled.

Yup, water was gonna be the end of Dean. Just not the way he might have thought....

+~+~+

III

Lieutenant Ben dabbed his eyes with a tissue. Damn hay fever!

“I can't tell you how much this means to me”, he told Cas. “Arranging everything the way you did.”

“I was lucky to have Missouri to help me”, Cas said. “There's something about the sight of her coming that makes even the most inefficient government official suddenly get their finger out!”

They were round at Benny's house, where he and Andrea finally had the adopted son that they had wanted. Despite the help of Mrs. Andrews, the fact that both the Cajun and his wife came from out of state had made adoption trickier under Texan law, until an opportunity had come via the former soldier. One of his army colleagues who had died on duty, Pete Benoit, had left behind a wife and a baby, but she had died in a car accident barely a year later, and the boy had gone into social care. That had been a few months ago, and Lieutenant Ben had only recently been informed of developments, whereon he had suggested Benny and Andrea as adoptive parents. There had been the usual hurdles to overcome, but today the boy, Peterson, was here for his first weekend.

“It is a pity that his two sets of grandparents hate each other so”, the lieutenant sighed. “I know them both, and either would probably have been able to manage, despite the age differences. But Pete's son deserves much more. He was one of the ones who spoke out for me when I came out.”

“I am sure that he would be proud of your efforts on his son's behalf”, Cas said firmly. “And Benny and Andrea will make good parents.”

Andrea had gone to several doctors, but the advice had been very much the same; she could have children, but it would be risky for both her and them. In the end she and Benny had decided that adoption was the best way. Cas smiled as he watched Peterson and Ben playing in the sand-pit that Dean had helped Benny build. This was a good ending, and an even better beginning.


	7. July

I

Dean had gone over to take a look at Mrs. Tran's car, which had been playing up. Ben toyed with his cereal.

“Is something wrong with daddy?” he asked suddenly.

Cas was glad he was facing away from their son at the time, and was able to compose his features before turning to face him.

“I do not think so”, he said. “Why do you ask, Ben?”

“Only I heard someone crying when I went to use the bathroom”, the boy said, “and it sounded like him.”

Cas sighed. He sat down opposite his son and looked hard at him.

“Ben”, he said carefully, “when your daddy was growing up, _his_ daddy was not a good person. He did not treat Dean at all well.”

That was an entry for Understatement of the Year, Cas thought bitterly. If not of the century.

“What happened to his daddy?” Ben asked.

“He died in a car accident”, Cas said simply. “He had got drunk, and it was lucky that he killed only himself. He had treated Dean very, very badly, and your daddy still sometimes has nightmares.”

“Do adults have nightmares?” Ben asked dubiously.

“They do”, Cas said. “Which reminds me, I must arrange for you to meet my parents some time.”

“Huh?”

+~+~+

Cas kept a sharp eye on his husband for the rest of that Independence Day, but Dean seemed a lot better, and really enjoyed their time at the Roadhouse later. But Cas was happiest of all with the man he loved in his arms at the end of the day, where he truly belonged. When he got to cu.... hold his husband in a manly embrace.

“Don't you dare say it!” Dean grumbled. “And stop with the damn smirking!”

+~+~+

II

It was a (relatively) minor flaw in Cas' character that he had a cruel streak which he often worked out on his husband – though of course, always with Dean's consent. And all their friends had learned very quickly that when the taller Winchester walked (or limped) around with That Look on his face, well, you damn well did not ask, because if the horny bastard told you, you'd desperately wish he hadn't!

Still, Cas occasionally found other outlets for his scheming abilities. Like this morning, when he took a different route for his run that resulted in him coming back down Calleva Close just as everyone else (or 'normal folks', as Dean insisted on calling them) was getting up. And sure enough, there were signs of life from the house of their neighbor Sarah Blake. A bedroom light went on and then off, and Cas grinned. 

He jogged slowly down the road, knowing that he was out of sight from his neighbor. Dean would be doubtless waking up just about now, moaning that his six-foot heater was absent on some foolish exercise kick. Cas heard Sarah's front door opening, and jogged into view of it.

“Morning, Sam!” he called cheerfully.

The younger Winchester jumped as if he had been shot, and even at this distance Cas could see that he had turned a horrible shade of red. Pulling his dressing-gown – pink, hah! - around his tall figure, he all but fell inside the house.

+~+~+

“No, Dean”, Cas said firmly. “You are not to go next door and see your brother. He will come round here in good time.”

Dean pouted. 

“And no amount of pouting will make me change my mind”, Cas said firmly. 

“How did you know he was there, anyway?” Dean asked.

“I chanced to see him from the Close when I was returning from my run”, Cas said. “In a pink dressing-gown.”

He could see the wheels turning inside his husband's head.

“Of course, I could always tell Sam about the Lemon Jello Incident.”

“Cas! You bloody dare”!”

The professor sniggered.

+~+~+

Sam duly came over later that day, and when Dean looked as if he might say something after all, Cas held up a piece of paper with the word 'wobble' on it. Impressively, his husband's face reached Epic on the Official Dean Winchester Pout Scale.

+~+~+

III

Cas had that look on his face that did not betoken good news.

“Gabe was around earlier”, he said.

And there went Dean's good day. He sighed, and hoped Ben would be down to cheer him up soon. The kid could manage the stairs on his own now - “I am a big boy now, daddy!”, which phrase may or may not have brought on Dean's hay fever – and had inherited his papa's desire to play board games at every opportunity. The joy on his little face when he obliterated one of his fathers' counters during his favorite Sorry! - well, one would have had to have had a heart of stone not to be moved.

“What did he want?” Dean asked warily. Okay, so Gabe had tried to edge his way into Dean's good books by buying him pie, but Dean was not so easily won (all right, and he had had to get Cas' permission first). 

“He's a bit worried about Phil, the tenant that the Reverend Ford got for while he is away getting treatment.”

Dean frowned. 

“Why?” he asked warily. 

“You know how Gabe loves to play the secret agent”, Cas said. “He checked the guy's mailbox, and he had letters sent to two different people – a Philip Freeman, and a Patrick Fillongley.”

“Maybe he changed his name?” Dean suggested. “Or got married, and changed it. Some men do, you know.”

Cas gave him a Look. Dean did not tremble. Much.

“Cap was sure he said he was single”, Cas persisted. “I do not like it. Why is he doing something like that?”

+~+~+

The answer came unexpectedly the very next day. It was a rare quiet day at the garage, and Dean mentioned the mystery of the guy with two names, only to note that Benny had suddenly gone red.

“What's up?” Dean asked.

“Fillongley”, Benny growled. “That's the name of the guy who married Petie's Aunt Simeone, I'm sure of it. Can't remember his first name, but I'm sure of the surname; I looked it up and found it's somewhere in England. Did your neighbor have an address for where he came from?”

“Benny!” Bobby said sharply, and they all jumped. “Don't do anything you're gonna regret.”

The Cajun smiled darkly.

“That includes anything you're not gonna regret too”, Bobby added quickly.

“Damn!”


	8. August

I

Dean and Benny looked at each other, then strode up the path to the house and rang the doorbell. After a short pause it was duly opened.

By Cas.

“Huh?” Dean said, eloquently.

“Come in”, his husband said, leading the way into the house. The two men followed him, totally confused.

+~+~+

“Pete and I were first cousins”, Philip – Patrick – said. “But Marsha – his wife – hated me. I was out in Iraq when he died, and she didn't even bother to tell me; I only found out when a mutual friend mentioned it, thinking I already knew. I couldn't get back, and by the time I could get home, she had died and Pete's son had gone into care.”

“But why didn't they hand him to you?” Dean asked. “You're his nearest living relative, given that neither of the grandparents were available.”

The soldier blushed.

“I had pretty bad PTSD after my time over there”, he said ruefully. “It's manageable with medication, but raising a kid would be beyond me; I knew that. But I still wanted to make sure that Pete's boy was okay. I rang round a few friends and managed to find the town, then I lucked out when my old friend Ben told me that some neighbors of his had adopted a kid recently. I decided to check it out.”

“What do you want?” Benny asked, visibly suspicious.

“Benny!” Cas said sharply (Dean tried not to gloat that he was not the only one whipped by that voice, but the look he got from his husband suggested that he might not have managed it).

“Just for the kid to know who I am some day”, Patrick said. “Not now, of course – not when he's just settling into a new home. But when he's older, if that's okay.”

“Have to talk about it with Andrea”, Benny said gruffly. “We'll see.”

+~+~+

II

It was a six hour drive to Cas' chosen beach at Surfside, due south of Houston, and Dean had to be impressed with the military campaign that his husband had mounted to keep Ben interested during all that time. A late start, coloring books and games in the car, a large lunch at Waco, and the kid slept most of the way there, still yawning as they checked into their hotel, the Ocean Village.

They had planned to spend only a couple of nights here before moving on, but Ben was clearly so entranced with the sea when they went to see it that that rapidly became a week. A week that would go down in Dean's history (and yeah, he did see the point of Cas' weird scrap-booking hobby at times like this, shut up) as one of the Best Weeks Ever. It was not just Ben being so amazed with the sea and being able to play in it, or Dean managing to overcome his own fears and go in with him (and Cas). No, it was something else. The Shorts Of Doom™.

Cas insisted that, as well as high-factor sun cream, they all wear loose clothes to avoid sunburn (Dean would have scoffed, but he remembered the one time he had ignored that advice, and the pain.... no, he had learned that lesson the hard way). And on the few times that they had gone to the beach before, Cas had not gone into the water because he knew how uncomfortable it made Dean. But now they had Ben, that was no longer an option. So when Cas stood up and slipped off his loose top, Dean should not have been surprised.

Until he saw The Shorts Of Doom™. Perfectly-fitting dark blue shorts that hid nothing. And even while he stared, he could feel several eyes – male and female – from folks nearby taking far too much interest in his husband.

Dammit!

+~+~+

“Seventeen”, Cas said that evening, once Ben had gone to bed.

“Huh?”

“That's the number of people you growled at today”, Cas grinned. “That poor gray-haired grandma was just passing, by the way.”

“I did not growl!” Dean not-sulked. His husband grinned evilly.

“I like it when you get possessive”, he said in what was verging dangerously onto the Sex Voice™. “Perhaps when Ben goes back to school, you might come to the college one morning. To, you know, 'fix' a few things.”

And how the hell was Dean supposed to sleep after that?

+~+~+

III

Looking back on it, Cas really should have seen it coming. Their short holiday at the beach with Ben had been wonderful (as had the darkened eyes of his husband when he had worn those shorts), so naturally trouble struck almost the minute they were home.

Cas was washing up when the doorbell rang. Dean playing in the front room with Ben, called that he would get it. The next two things Cas registered were 1) a terrified scream from their son, and 2) Ben flying into the kitchen at top speed and grabbing the professor's legs so hard that he nearly tipped him over.

“Ben?” Cas asked, concerned. “What is it? What happened?”

Fortunately all was explained when two sheepish looking people appeared in the doorway. Dean and Mrs. Andrews. Cas sighed.

“Ben”, he said, using his Firm Voice™, “we need to talk.”

“She's not gonna take me away, is she?” the boy asked fearfully.

“Talk first”, Cas insisted.

+~+~+

Cas had to let their son sit in his lap before they could get started. He appreciated that Mrs. Andrews had positioned herself the other side of Dean, lessening the boy's fears.

“You see, Ben”, Cas began, “it's like this. Mrs. Andrews' job is to find homes for children like you. And that means finding good parents.”

“But you _are_ good parents!” Ben objected. Cas heard the sniff that came from his husband, but ignored it.

“Yes”, Cas said patiently, “but Mrs. Andrews' job is to make sure that _all_ her children are safe and happy. That means that she has to go round and check up on all parents who take those children in, like us. Sometimes she tells us when she is coming, but sometimes she does not.”

“Why?” Ben demanded indignantly.

“Well”, Cas said carefully, “some bad parents would always pretend to be good if they knew when she was coming, and then go back to being bad once she had gone. By calling without any warning, she stops that and can save children from them.”

“Are you happy here, Ben?” Mrs. Andrews said softly. “That's my main concern. If you are, then you can stay here forever.”

“I am _very_ happy here”, Ben said stoutly. “So is GI Joe. And I found a real soldier just like him who lives nearby, and even better, the nasty people next door have moved away. Though Papa's brother has moved in, but I suppose he's sort of okay.”

Cas bit back a smile at the less than ringing endorsement. He would probably let that slip to Gabriel some time. 

“Then if you're happy, that's fine”, Mrs. Andrews said firmly. 

Cas suspected that Ben was not the only one to sigh in relief.


	9. September

I

Dean shook his head in wonderment. He had fully expected their son's pout to be followed by a full-sized tantrum, but Cas had shot the kid one look and he had stopped dead. Huh, the boy was as whipped as he was!

'Someone' did not need to shake their head at him just then, either!

“This is something that we have to talk with you about”, Cas said patiently. “You are growing up, Ben, and you are of an age when you have to take part in important decisions like this one.”

“But I like school!” Ben protested (Dean briefly considered whether he had been abducted and replaced with an identical alien child). His husband shot him a look, and Dean did not flinch. Much.

“I am glad that you do”, Cas said crisply. “The college nursery is a good place, but they are aimed at caring for you, not educating you. This year or next year, you will be old enough to start real school.”

“What if I don't like it?” Ben asked mulishly.

“There are lots of schools in the area”, Cas said. “It is the law that you have to go to a school from next year at the latest, but we are having this talk now because we want to take you round some of them first, to see which one you like.”

That was a bit of a fib, Dean thought, because the geography of their part of town meant that there were really only three schools within reach, and one of those, he knew, had a very poor reputation. And it had a head who thought purple hair – hers _and_ her pupils' - was Making A Statement. He suspected that those two facts were not unrelated.

“It would certainly be easier for us if you had a school nearby”, Cas said. “But we love you, and if it turns out that a school on the far side of town best suits you, then we will make that work. Besides, you may be the only boy to turn up in a classic car.”

“I like your new car better”, Ben said.

The alien abduction theory was looking ever more likely in Dean's.... and now his husband was looking at him again! Dammit!

+~+~+

II

The nursery was doing a theme of transportation this term, and Ben had asked if they might go on a real train. That meant an afternoon drive to Forth Worth to catch a train for the four hour plus run to Oklahoma City, where they would stay the night, then take the train back the following morning. Dean thought it a bit of a waste of time for an overnight stay in a town they wouldn't even get to see round, but Ben was entranced by it all, even if he was (like his papa) grumpy at their early start the following morning. And now Dean was enjoying sitting in the upper coach section with his son asleep against him, totally tuckered out from his early start and about an hour out from their destination. Cas had gone to use the restroom, and Dean had actually been enjoying his first ever train trip. 

Had been, until fifteen minutes back, when the phone of the blonde piece opposite – a woman who had presumably applied her make-up that morning with a trowel - went off. Unfortunately she turned out to be one of those people who evidently distrusted the modern telephonic device, and felt the urge to yell down it just to make sure the guy at the other end was hearing her. 

"Hi sweetheart, it's me!”  
“Don't be silly. Emily, your wife!”  
“I'm on the train!”  
"I know, but the meeting went on so long I missed my flight!”  
"No, honey, I'm not with Ken from accounting! I'm all yours!”  
"Come on, sweetheart, you're the only one in my life!”  
"Yes, I'm sure, cross my heart!"

How Ben was sleeping through that motormouth, Dean had no idea. He was sure Cas had gone to use the facilities partly to get away from her shrill voice, and she was still yelling when he came back down the aisle. But instead of slipping in opposite his husband, Cas leaned over the woman and called into the phone.

“Elli-poos, come back to bed and your Kenny-wenny!”

It was worth his husband's smirk to see the utterly horrified look on the woman's face, as she glared at them both, then high-tailed it down the aisle whilst obviously trying to placate her irate husband.

+~+~+

III

Cas' birthday that year fell on a Wednesday. They had planned a family celebration for the weekend after, until Sam and Sarah offered to take Ben to Kansas City for the weekend, staying overnight at a hotel there. Dean almost forgave Sam for the Great Pie Prank of '09 for such a wonderful act. Well, almost. Sam was told that a Megagiant pie from the city bakery would secure him total forgiveness. 

Yes, Dean had got Cas' permission first! Give the guy a break here!

It was late Sunday evening when they brought Ben back, sleeping in Sam's long arms and totally tuckered out after his grand weekend. Cas opened the door to admit them, and shushed them before leading Sam upstairs so he could deposit Ben in his bed.

“Where's Dean?” Sam asked warily, once they were back in the living-room. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know, but he sort of had to ask.

“He went to water the plants in the sun-room”, Cas said. “Come to think of it, that was ten minutes ago. I wonder why he didn't come to greet you both.”

The answer was audible the moment Cas opened the door to the sun-room, from the little snores coming from the sofa there, and the yellow and black bee-themes socks sticking over one end of it. Sam shook his head as his brother-in-law closed the door and ushered them back to the living-room. 

“It's not even six o'clock yet”, he said. “Why's he sleeping?”

His girlfriend and brother-in-law looked first at each other, and then at him.

“Is he always that slow?” Cas asked.

“Takes time for the blood to reach all the way up to the brain”, Sarah said.

“Hey!”

“You didn't break him, did you Cas?” she asked with a grin. Cas smiled at the look of horror on Sam's face.

“Not this time”, he grinned. “But it's his birthday a few months from now, so maybe then, if he's very very good. Or even if he's very very bad!”

Cas had his phone out just in time to catch the rarely-spotted Bitchface #1.


	10. October

I

As a professor, Cas tried to like all his students. But, in the case of Ms. Gina Sheffield, he was prepared to make an exception. The dratted woman had transferred in this year; Missouri had warned Cas that her last college had thrown a celebration party at her leaving before she had been murdered. And after a few weeks, he could see why.

The woman was awful! No matter what they were discussing in class, she would talk over everyone and try to re-direct the conversation to what _she_ considered important, namely white privilege and why her professor's refusal to acknowledge his own was so hurtful (Ms. Sheffield was white, but apparently 'identified' as other' so she was excluded from having to apologize for the the crimes committed by 'the uber race'). And when Cas finally lost patience with her and told her to shut up, and that her views would be heard neither more nor less than anyone else's, she promptly put in a complaint against him to Missouri. Who equally promptly, told her that other colleges were available. Sadly she did not take the hint.

Matters came to a head, almost inevitably, on Columbus Day, a disaster that Cas had seen coming. He had always made explorers a theme of his lessons that day, and many of his students looked forward to his coming in dressed in period costume (his husband looked forward even more to removing said costume later that evening). Cas was not at all surprised to arrive at the college and find Ms. Sheffield at the front of a small group of students, all with banners protesting the marking of the day. As he walked over to his classroom, she detached herself from them and moved to block him.

“Professor!” she yapped in her annoying voice, “are you going to take the opportunity today to acknowledge your white privilege?”

Cas scowled at her. The coffee machine had broken down that morning and, although Dean had fetched him one from Mrs. Tran's house opposite, it had not been the same. 

“No”, he said shortly. “Excuse me.”

He moved to go past her, and she dropped her placard to stop him, only for him to push it out of the way and walk on. She screamed after him.

“Rapist!”

Cas froze, then turned on her. 

“What did you just say?” he asked dangerously.

+~+~+

Dean Winchester did not cuddle. But seeing the state his husband was in when he got home, this was clearly one of those exceptions. And if his conscience reminded him that it was the fourth time this week, it could shut the fuck up.

“So Charlie video'd the whole thing?” he grinned. His husband nodded.

“She thought there might be trouble when she got there”, he said. “She showed the footage to Missouri, and the demonspawn is on a final warning.”

“Thank God for that!”

Unfortunately, their troubles with Ms. Sheffield were far from over.

+~+~+

II

Some days later, and Cas was beginning to hope that things were settling down. The harridan had been subdued in class, settling for scowling rather than interrupting (either that, or she had really bad constipation), and he definitely enjoyed the peace and quiet. 

It didn't last. That weekend, Cas and Dean took Ben to the park across the road, as they had grown accustomed to do as of late. Unfortunately this was not a normal day.

Dean stared incredulously at the group of people holding placards.

“How the f.... blazes is a... slide part of the 'oppressive patriarchy?” he demanded.

Cas groaned. He had spotted the harridan at the front of the protestors, apparently uncaring that several local parents were milling around, their children unable to enjoy the facilities. She looked across at him and smirked, then caught sight of Dean. A confused look crossed her face.

Cas was so distracted that he briefly took his eyes off his husband. Dean, meanwhile, had marched over to the scrawny guy blocking the slide.

“You have two choices!” he growled. “You can either take your crew and go far, far away, or I can shove that placard somewhere even your doctor will find it hard to get out. Kapiche?”

The guy went pale and looked set to back away but, predictably, the harridan tottered over.

“This is our freedom of speech!” she trilled. “We have the right to protest the male patriarchy!”

Dean just looked at her. Her confidence visibly wavered.

“I believe in equality”, the mechanic growled. “Come here and stop our kids having fun ever again, and your bloody placard will end up the same damn place!”

The harridan looked set to stand her ground, but her followers evidently had enough sense to start shuffling away. She scowled when she saw that they had abandoned her, and flounced off after them.

“A pity Texas has the death penalty”, Dean grumbled as they left. “Though I'm still thinking it might be worth it!”

+~+~+

III

Cas' college had a fairly relaxed dress code, although there were standards, as those students who broke them found through a visit with Mrs. Moseley (no-one _ever_ needed a second visit). But on Halloween, or the school day before if it fell on a weekend, basically anything went. Except of course for one student in Cas' class, who was very visibly in her normal get-up. Still, he hoped that today would pass without any further trouble from the harridan.

It did not.

+~+~+

“I want that man sacked! And prosecuted!”

Mrs. Missouri Moseley eyed her visitor unfavourably. He sank back into his chair, still scowling. Beside him, his daughter sulked, although with her face, that may have been her normal expression. Smiling to herself, the principal reached for the remote on her desk.

“What is that?” Mr. Sheffield asked. 

“Your daughter has made a serious accusation of sexual assault against one of my professors”, the principal said heavily. “Normally, of course, I would call in the police at once – but I thought that you might like to see this first.”

“What is it?” her guest asked.

“It so happened that my computer technician, Miss Bradbury, was testing some of her latest equipment this morning”, the principal said. “And by a great stroke of luck – though not for your daughter – one of them was pointed directly at her classroom.”

“That is an infringement of her human rights”, Mr. Sheffield said loftily, although he looked worried.

“The video shows your daughter deliberately ripping her own clothes when alone in the classroom with her professor, then screaming and running out”, the principal said dryly. She pressed a buzzer on her desk. “Miss Scott? Send them in, please.”

Before either her pupil or her guest could react, the door opened to reveal two police officers. Mrs. Moseley smiled.

“Two things”, she said. “Firstly, I believe the penalty for making a provably false accusation of rape is three years in jail, and believe you me, I shall be pushing for every minute of that sentence. And secondly; Miss Sheffield, you are formally expelled. Have a nice day, y'all!”


	11. November

I

“So how about it, professor?” 

Cas looked warily at Alex. She was one of his best students, and he knew better than to agree to anything she may or may not have said. The girl would make a brilliant if terrifying lawyer one day, he was sure.

“How about what?” he asked warily.

“Letting us off an assignment this week to celebrate”, she said. Now he was genuinely confused.

“To celebrate what?” he asked. There were so many days marking this or that culturally significant event that he had long given up trying to keep track.

“Our marginal reduction in class size!” she grinned. 

Several other students snickered. No-one had liked Ms. Sheffield, currently out on bail and having been instructed to keep clear of the place unless she wanted to see the inside of a jail cell again. Coincidentally, Missouri had brought in a celebratory large box of donuts for no particular reason just after the harridan had left for the last time.

“That would be highly improper”, Cas said loftily, earning himself a series of groans.

“Professor!”

“However”, he went on, “there _may_ or may not be a spot test some time this week. It _may_ or may not be on Thursday. And it would, I shall concede, be unfair to load you down with work on top of that...”

“Yay!” Alex cheered.

“ _Provided_ you pass”, he qualified, quickly turning the cheers to groans. “Anyone who fails can expect an assignment this weekend; those that pass can have a week off.”

“You're no fun!” Alex pouted. 

Cas smirked.

+~+~+

It was Cas' turn to pick Ben up that day, and Ms. Mathews had warned him by text that the boy was upset because they had a test coming up. Cas asked him why.

“What if I fail?” his son asked worriedly. “Will I have to leave here?”

“Well, you will have to leave eventually, when you get too old”, Cas pointed out. “But they do not make students leave for failing a test.”

Otherwise, he added silently to himself, his own class size would be down by a few students. Ben still looked worried, though.

“Tell you what”, Cas said. “Why don't we call in to see if we can surprise your father at work, then we can go home and have pizza, and we can both help you study.”

“But you don't allow daddy to have pizza on Thursdays”, Ben pointed out. “And he sulks, despite the fact he said he would work off any extra weight.”

“I don't remember that”, Cas said.

“He said something about doing something called horizontal jogging”, Ben said. “I overheard the two of you talking in the garage.”

Cas turned bright red.

+~+~+

II

Dean would not have called his husband jealous. Well, not exactly jealous. Okay, he was jealous as fuck, but Dean quite liked his body parts in their current arrangement, thank you very much. And when Cas got jealous.... Lord, Dean could still remember the last time he had given that waitress in a diner a smile – _one freakin' smile, dammit!_ \- and Cas had narrowed his eyes at him.

Thank God it had been on a Saturday. Dean had still ached when he went to work on the Monday! Damn hard cement floors!

Cas had arranged for Ben to have a sleepover with Charlie and Dorothy that evening, because Dean had to go and have some eye tests at the local clinic, and part of them involved those drops after which he was told not to drive. Which meant Cas had to drop him off during his lunch break, and then pick him up during his free period that afternoon.

Cas arrived to find Dean had not yet gone in – the place was running late – but he was next up. Sure enough, five minutes later they were called through. Cas smiled as Dean was almost on top of him, but refusing to hold his hand as he went to his doom.

Unfortunately the guy doing the tests, 'Clark', was young, good-looking and clearly eyeing Dean up. Cas hid a smile at his husband's evident discomfiture, and the clinician's increasing flirtatiousness. Until finally, Dean was asked if he had any questions.

“What sort of physical activity should he refrain from?” Cas butted in with. The clinician smiled knowingly.

“Well, nothing that involves a lot of moving or precision work”, he said.

“So I can blow him still?”

Dean suddenly seemed to be having difficulty breathing. The clinician balked at the question.

“Er, yeah, I suppose that would be...”

“And I can ride him, provided he is lying down?”

Cas could almost hear his husband praying for a sudden meteor strike. He quickly thanked the clinician (being a teacher, he could do the fake sincerity thing really well), and hustled his stunned husband out of the place.

“Later!” he growled, once they were back in the car. “I have to go and teach an English class in just under an hour – but when I come home, I shall still be wearing the waistcoat!”

Some day, he thought to himself, he might kill his husband through too much sex. Ah well, it was probably covered under the life insurance policy.

He might check when he got home, though.

+~+~+

III

It had been Cas' idea to get Ben to do some of the decorations for Thanksgiving and, whilst his Stars And Stripes looked a bit off, Dean was glad that the boy felt he had contributed. Dean, of course, was in charge of the cooking for all their guests, and Cas arranged everything else.

Unfortunately, there was to be an absentee from their family celebrations. Bobby had had his truck rammed by some woman whose phone conversation had been far more important than actually looking where the hell she was going, and he was in hospital, recovering from whiplash and other minor injuries. Ellen had impressed everyone by telling them that, impossibly, he had become even grouchier than normal!

+~+~+

Bobby scowled as the unfailingly cheerful nurse, who he really wanted to brain with a full bedpan, bustled into his room. 

“Hello Mr. Singer!” she trilled (he looked around hopefully for something sharp, but no luck). “You have _visitors_!”

“Unless it's Ellen with food, I'm not here”, he groused.

“Don't be a grumpy-groo!” she chirped, bustling over to the door. “Everyone come in!”

Bobby uttered up a silent curse to anyone listening in Heaven, but his expression softened when he saw it was Dean and Cas with their son, who was proudly holding a flag he must have made himself. 

“Papa has your pie”, he told Bobby. “Daddy offered to carry it, but papa didn't trust him.”

Bobby had to chuckle at his adoptive son's expression of annoyance at that.

“Family is all about sharing”, Dean said, looking pointedly at the pie – pecan, Bobby noted with pleasure. The old mechanic grinned.

“Quite right, son”, he said. “I can share it out among the other inmates here.”

The look of betrayal he got from his employee was priceless!

+~+~+

Yes, Dean got a slice of pie.


	12. December

I

Dean was surprised (and to be honest, not exactly overjoyed) to find Cas' brother and their neighbor sat at the kitchen table when he returned that day. Gabriel looked shell-shocked.

“Kali is expecting”, Cas explained.

“And he's surprised?” Dean snarked. “He _does_ know how these things work, doesn't he?”

His husband gave him a Look. Dean shuffled backwards slightly. There may or may not have been a high-pitched cough (a whine).

“I'm gonna have kids!” Gabriel wailed. 

“But you have Shweta already”, Dean pointed out.

“Kali went for the scan today”, Cas explained. “Gabriel is right. She is expecting twins.”

“Ooo, double trouble!” Dean sniggered. Cas swatted at him.

“You know that Dean and I will be here whenever you need us”, he said firmly, fixing his husband with another Look. _“Won't we, Dean?”_

There was only one answer to that if Dean Winchester wanted to keep his manliness intact.

“Of course”, he said. “ _We_ will.”

Cas looked at his sharply, and Dean gulped. He had a strong feeling that he might be paying for that every so slight tinge of sarcasm later.

With any luck!

+~+~+

II

Dean snuck panther-like into his bedroom. He'd gone to a lot of trouble to be able to snaffle a couple of chocolate decorations of the tree, helped by the fact that his usually observant husband hadn't noticed him casually placing two of them right around the back. He'd also taken the precaution of having a couple of similar-looking real decorations to replace them with. For once, he was gonna get one up on his ever-watchful husband.

A quick glance out of the window confirmed that Cas was still outside at the bird-feeders, so Dean sat on the bed and unwrapped the first chocolate. The foil wrapping seemed thicker than usual, and when he had got it open, he found out why. There was a folded piece of paper inside it. Puzzled, he read it:

'I am Very Disappointed with you, Dean.'

Dean Winchester, manly man extraordinaire, did not tremble. It was December, it was cold, the heating had not come one, and..... alright, he trembled. He quickly tried to re-wrap the chocolate, but it looked very much like someone had opened and then tried to re-seal it. Sighing, he gave up and ate it. It wasn't actually that nice but, he supposed, that was probably the guilt.

He unwrapped the second chocolate and ate that too, this time before reading the little message folded up inside. But when he finally did, he went pale:

'Ever heard of laxative chocolate, Dean?'

“Shit!”

And he did. For much of that day!

+~+~+

III

It was just the three of them this year. Cas had invited Lieutenant Ben, but apparently his sister Mrs. Fulready had finally laid down the law to her husband, who had been told in no uncertain terms that either the soldier was coming to their house, or he was leaving it! The young man had admitted to nerves at the whole thing, and Cas could only hope that it was going well.

Both Dean and Cas had shed a tear (a very manly one, in Dean's case) when their son had said he wanted some presents for the children back at the home. So he had had only had the one major present this year – a train set – and a smattering of smaller presents. Mrs. Andrews had thanked them heartily for their and their son's generosity, and had texted them some pictures this morning of some very happy children.

Nevertheless, the young boy seemed preoccupied, and Cas asked why.

“Well, there was something else I was gonna ask Santa for this year”, Ben said. “But I don't think he can get his hands on it.”

“I'm sure Santa can get most things”, Cas said confidently. “What was it you wanted, Ben?”

“A sister.”

Dean hadn't realized until that precise moment just how loud the grandfather clock in the corner really was.

+~+~+

“What do you think?” he asked Cas later, once they had put a very tired but very happy son safely to bed. Cas smiled.

“We always said we might want a small family”, he said. “I'm not saying that we should go full _The Waltons_ , but a girl would balance our family nicely. We should phone Mrs. Andrews after Christmas, and ask her about it.”

“We were lucky with Ben”, Dean smiled. “I wonder if we'll be as lucky second time around.”

Ah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first episode of Bewhipped! The Third Year will be up on New Year's Day.


End file.
